How to Help Intellectually Disabled Adult Children Live Independently

intellectually disabled counseling

How to Help Intellectually Disabled Adult Children Live Independently

Parents of adult children who are considered mildly intellectually disabled often struggle with resources that can help them assist their adult children live an independent life. Financial resources in particular can be a struggle for this group of individuals although surprising, 85% of intellectually disabled people are considered “mild” and they can often live on their own with minimum support from others. Services such as bill management oversight can be one such option to help with independent living.

Determining if an adult child can live independently

There are several resources that can help parents of adult children with mild ID determine if they’re capable of living independently and how to help them feel comfortable living more independently. A few questions that can help include: Can they determine and respond to an emergency? Can they take care of their daily living activities with little or no assistance? Can they communicate their needs and concerns effectively? Oftentimes, parents may opt to have the adult child live in an independent dwelling unit adjacent to their own home, such as a studio apartment, which allows the individual to live independently with some oversight, which may include overseeing day-to-day finances such as bill paying.

Helping adult children be financially responsible

The ability to handle finances can be challenging for anyone. Busy professionals, the elderly, and those with intellectual challenges are just a few who may struggle with handling everyday financial responsibilities. Organizations like The National Disability Institute provide resources that help parents of mild ID adult children become more financially empowered. One option that most parents want is the ability to oversee finances even if the adult child is handling their own financial responsibilities such as bill paying. Companies like Bill Simplicity can be an ideal solution for these kinds of situations.

How professional bill management services can help

Professional bill management companies allow individuals to not only oversee their own bill paying efforts but can also give access to other trusted individuals who can also oversee activities. Any bills, whether they be recurring on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual basis, are received by the bill management service, which analyzes them for accuracy and consistency. Bills are then uploaded into a shared account where they await approval from the individual to review and approve bills to be paid. This can be done by the adult ID child, the parents, or both. After you have approved your bills to be paid, payments are sent to your vendors. Parents and/or the adult child receive notifications before the payment goes out as well as when the payment is complete. Services such as these allow parents to give the adult child as much or as little oversight as they are comfortable with, allowing them to experience a level of financial independence while keeping finances safe.

People with intellectual disabilities are expanding their ability to remain independent and to make decisions for themselves when given access to services such as a managed bill paying service which is one more option to help intellectually disabled adult children live independently.

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